The Messy Middle of Becoming**

9:01 AM—Ethan handed me my latte with a smirk. "You’re back on the oat milk today," he noted, nodding at the splash of creaminess swirling into my black coffee. I grinned. "Yeah, well. Some days I like it simple. Some days I need a little sweetness."

And that’s where I’m at today—somewhere in between.

My sketchbook is open to a half-finished design, threads dangling, seams still exposed. A month ago, I would’ve either rushed to complete it or abandoned it entirely. Now? I’m learning to linger in the unfinished. To let the process be as important as the final stitch.

Here’s the shift happening now:

1. I’m letting relationships breathe. Liam texted last night—"What are we doing?"—and for once, I didn’t panic. Instead of scrambling for a perfect answer, I wrote back: "I don’t know. But I like figuring it out with you." No pressure. No performative certainty. Just honesty. And it felt lighter this way.

2. My creativity is learning patience. That unfinished design? It’s teaching me that not everything has to resolve right now. Some ideas need time to simmer. Some love stories unfold slowly. Some lattes taste better when you don’t rush them.

3. I’m falling in love with the middle. October in LA is all about golden-hour limbo—not quite summer, not quite fall. I used to hate this in-between, always itching for the next thing. Now? There’s beauty in the not yet. In the way the light slants just so at 5 PM, like the universe whispering: "Hold on. Something good is coming."

Ethan just handed someone a latte with a flawless foam heart. Old me would’ve compared, wondered why my cup didn’t get the extras. Today? I sip my imperfect coffee and smile. Some days you’re the masterpiece. Some days you’re the rough draft. And that’s okay.

Growth isn’t about skipping to the finish line. It’s about learning to love the messy, uncertain, beautiful middle.

xx Mandy

(P.S. That half-finished design? Still on my mannequin. Still evolving. And for once, I’m not rushing the ending.)